1988 Mercedes Benz 190E 2.3-16, currently for sale at Alps (Car purchase Alps industry sales centre?) in Nagano Prefecture, central Japan; for a whisker under 2million yen.
Other than the terrible exchange-rate for Australians like myself currently; with no compliance and no conversion necessary, thanks to that pre-1989 joy... $30k all up? That's not so bad....

1988-production actually makes this very late days for the 2.3litre variation of the Cosworth-developed four.. with the tail-end of 1988 seeing the introduction of the 2.5litre stroker version of the same engine, for the 190E 2.5-16.

Visually it was all very much the same, with the 'wild' aero (deep front spoiler, flares, skirts and door mouldings, rear under-spoiler, and that wing..) continuing on as-is until the Evolution models. No joke.. Youtube the period Motorweek (USA) review of the 2.3-16... ol' John Davis seems a bit taken aback by that wing!

..compared to the AMG models today? This is tame. This is tasteful. Properly integrated, and looking so sharp on those accessory colour-matched AMG wheels...

..not forgetting of-course, all the fun details shining through from the base vehicle! Single-wiper, asymmetrical wing-mirrors, and headlight-wipers? Aw yeah...

Star of the show, and the reason for all the fuss: that Cosworth-developed (and part-manufactured) M102.983 2.3litre twin-cam four. These 2.3'swere initially quite oversquare, had a ~7000rpm rev-cut.. and delivered their peak 185hp (~138kw) at a relatively-high 6,200rpm...
All this power gets to the ground via the rear wheels, with thanks to a limited-slip differential and multi-link IRS setup; but not before making it's way through either the standard Getrag 5speed manual (with dog-leg first!) or - as on this car - 4speed automatic transmission...

Moving inside...

..matching AMG (again, accessory?) wheel, in a sea of black.
Have to mention at this point, that damn this thing looks clean inside. Ti-dy. What a nice place to be.

Electric-sliding metal-panel sunroof...

Bucket-like bolstering on the rear seat, resulting in one of your four friends having to catch the bus....

..a quick segue to the equally-spotless boot/trunk area. No pass-through to the interior compartment means we're not going skiing... but pah - all is forgiven when I'm so easily distracted by that CD-stacking briquette of nostalgia, hanging from the underside of the parcel-shelf...!

Unfortunately the extensive lower-panel cladding on these could easily hide rust issues below; but I don't think it's a problem here. Looking this tidy, with a claimed 88,000km (55,000mi) on the clock? Short of the surprising amount of small skirt-pieces missing, this seems to be an excellent example of Mercedes' E30 M3 fighter.. the 190E 2.3-16.
Likely not surprise-of-the-day - but would drive.

Wednesday, 20 July 2016

It's time for a closer look at something I posted Instagram a couple weeks back.
A much closer look.. since the classic, lovable, blog-format welcomes the 40+ detail pics of a worn out old Saab with open arms..
..dozens of poorly-edited phone pics, taken in the rain..? Yes. Please. All of them.

But first, an Instagram-recap (and not entirely out of lazyness.. as cmon, it gets me warmed up...):

Softly spoken, a whisper: "turbo". Lower case. Uncapitalised. A gently nagging reminder via a tap on the shoulder, rather than the grab-by-the-collar-and-scream-in-the-face from Japanese manufacturers of the era. It's Saab, 1984, and a sad old 900 turbo at the wreckers on the weekend... #saab #saab900 #saab900turbo #900turbo #saabnation #turbo #1984

..and another look at the previous post's 1984 Saab 900 turbo sedan. I love getting the chance to play with these old things at the wreckers.. as they're just *so* different from what I'm used to. Nissan/Toyota/Honda/Mazda/whatever; things are all so (logically) similar.. regardless of how different they look, or the fact they're unrelated manufacturers. They just understandably go about things (engineering.. assembly..) the same way. Then I come across something like this, and it's just so.. odd. A clamshell bonnet that's weighted/sprung to slide forward and pivot up, doors that overlap where the sill would be, ignition barrel in the centre console, a clearly-labelled transparent fuse-box, the novelty-sized oil-cap.. the hinges.. the catches.. the way it's all held together; it's just different. Hell, the damn engine is mounted back-to-front! Satisfied curiosity making for a fun Saturday afternoon in the rain... #saab #saab900 #saab900turbo #900turbo #saabnation #turbo #1984

Everyone remember that Saab turbo I was posting about last week..? The one at the wreckers? Well you wouldn't think I'd be leaving *that* behind without a saabenir of some sort.. a little slice of 1980s-Sweden-does-turbo for my very own. SO.. cast aluminium, raised exceptionally-neat part number lettering, and raised.. unghf.. lowercase *turbo* lettering on the face; throw in the boost-pressure-brace-turned-kickstand on the end, and damn.. I'm in car-junk desk-ornament heaven! Besides.. everone needs a turbo crossover for a 1984 Saab 900 turbo, right!? Carefully wrapped in a 2007 Deakin University Annual Report found in the cars boot/trunk (it IS a Saab afterall; who'd you think would've owned it!), and carted home. Here it is cleaned within an inch of its now-pointless life, and ready for reassembly. Next up? A *pic* of it reassembled. Soon. Promise me you won't get too antsy with that imagination... #saab #saab900 #saab900turbo #900turbo #saabnation #turbo #1984

..with most of the fun spoiled in the recap posts above, please bear with me for a touch of repetition:

June 1984 Saab 900 Turbo sedan.
6-or-so years into the 1st generation Saab 900's 15-year production run. These were the replacement for the 99, and had been available (as of 1984) as a 3dr hatch, 5dr hatch, and as here.. a 4dr sedan. A top of the line turbo sedan like this hit the market sometime early 1981 (the hatch being a year or two prior to this).. with this grille identifying it as a late-83-onwards model. Australian-new, this turbo sedan was over $30,000 in 1984...

Saab's APC system - the Automatic Performance Control - a knock sensor and boost control combination introduced on these engines in 1982...

The boot/truck crowbar'd open by the looks of it. The small rubber lip-spoiler already gone, and now supposedly on an R31....

Confirming the stereotype. A broad brush paints an ugly picture.. but this IS why people generalize. It just saves time...

Trigger door-handles...

Light metallic blue on a dark red. Such a sharp combination...

...as I mentioned in one of the original Instagram posts above; see the door-seals on the door? The lack of sill? The style of hinges? It's all just so interesting to me after years of working on Japanese and Australian vehicles. The way anything and everything is done is just.. different...

Tyre placard for some deceptively-skinny 15's, and the riveted door hinges...

...shhh... 'turbo'. A relentlessly casual mention....

turbo/APC gauge on the 220kmh cluster...

Large, strangely-open, felt-lined cubbies in the front of the console...

Selector for the standard three-speed automatic.. complete with top-mounted release button, and furry brush in the selector gate. A 5spd manual was optional....

The console from above, showing the centrally-mounted power window switches; that accordion boot between the two console sections; and the ignition switch.
..yes, right there in the console..
..yes, underneath the handbrake lever..